The Internet has made possible the exchange of information between entities all over the world. This has been a significant benefit to the internationalization of companies; however, this also introduces interesting problems in terms of communications and understanding the communications. Even in the general public arena, direct contact between users is now possible from virtually anywhere, but language barriers can still be problematic.
In one particular example, the multi-language problem occurs in the Chinese language. There are two Chinese languages: Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. The Simplified Chinese language uses characters having a reduced number of strokes as well as entirely different terms; however, this simplification, while providing improvements in some respects, exacerbates recognition of characters in other respects.
Most Chinese users are familiar with just one of the languages. As the business in the Greater China Region grows, Chinese users are receiving more attachments to messages in other Chinese languages. For instance, users in Taiwan and Hong Kong, who are familiar with Traditional Chinese, may receive more attachments, emails, and other types of message from co-workers, partners, and customers in mainland China, in Simplified Chinese. Conversely, the same is occurring where the Simplified Chinese users in mainland China are getting more Traditional Chinese emails/attachments from Taiwan and Hong Kong. The ubiquitous nature of the Internet is placing additional demands on software vendors to develop ways in which users can quickly perceive documents in different languages.